is choice had been to stay in the dee dark ater far out beyond all snares and tras an choice as to go there to find him beyond al all eole in th e are joined together and have been sinc no one to hel either one of us.

erhas should not have been a fisherman,h that as the thing that as bor surely remember to eat the tuna after it get time before daylight something took one of the baits that ere behin heard the stick break and the line begin to rush out over the gunale of th the darkness he loosened his sheath knife and taking all the strain of the fish on his left shoulder he leaned back and cut the line against the ood of th he cut the other line closest to him and in the dark made the loose ends of the reserve coil orked skillfully ith the one hand and ut his foot on the coils to hold them as he dre his knot he had six reserve coils o ere to from each bait he had severed and the to from the bait the fish had taken and they ere al it is light,he thought, ill ork back to the forty-fathom bait and cut it aay too and link u the reserv have lost to hundred fathoms of good atalan cordel and the hooks an can b ho relaces this fish if hook some fish and it cuts him off?

don't kno hat that fish as that took the bait jus could have been a marlin or a broadbill or fel to get rid of him to he said“, ish had the boy.”

ut you haven't got the boy,h have only yourself and you had better ork back to the last line no,in the dark or not in the dark,and cut it aay and hook u the to reserv he did it.

t as difficult in the dark and once the fish made a surge that ulled him don on his face and made a cut belo hi blood ran don his cheek a littl it coagulated and dried before it reached his chin and he orked his ay back to the bo and rested against th adjusted the sack and carefully orked the line so that it came across a ne art of his shoulders and,holding it anchored ith his shoulders,he carefully felt the ull of the fish and then felt ith his hand the rogress of the skiff through th hat he made that lurch for,h ire must have slied on the hill of hi his back cannot feel as badly as min he cannot ull this skiff forever,no matter ho great he is.

o everything is cleared aay that might make trouble and have a big reserve of line;all that a man can ask.

“ish,”he said softly,aloud,“'ll stay ith you until am dead.”

e'll stay ith me too, suose,the old man thought and he aited for it to b as cold no in the time before daylight and he ushed against the ood to b do it as long as he can,h in the first light the line extended out and don into th boat moved steadily and hen the first edge of the sun rose it as on the old man's right shoulder.

“e's headed north,”the old ma current ill have set us far to the eastard,h he ould turn ith th ould sho that he a the sun had risen further the old man realized that the fish as no as only one favorabl slant of the line shoed he as simming at a lesse did not necessarily mean that he oul he might.

“od let him jum,”the old man said.

“ have enough line to handle him.”

aybe if can increase the tension just a little it ill hurt him and he ill jum,h that it is daylight let him jum so that he'll fill the sacks along his backbone ith air and then he cannot go dee t tried to increase the tension,but the line had been taut u to the very edge of the breaking oint since he had hooked the fish and he felt the harshness as he leaned back to ull and kne he could ut no more strain on it.

must not jerk it ever,h jerk idens the cut the hook makes and then hen he does jum he might thro it.

nyay feel better ith the sun and for once do not have to look into it.

here as yello eed on the line but the old man kne that only made an added drag and he a as the yello ulf eed that had made so much hoshorescence in the night.

“ish,”he said,“ love you and resect you ver ill kill you dead before this day ends.”

et us hoe so,h bird came toard the skiff from th as a arbler and flying very lo over th old man could see that he as ver bird made the stern of the boat and reste he fle around the old man's head and rested on the line here he as more comfortable.

“o old are you?”the old man asked the bird.

“ s this your first tri?”

he bird looked at him hen h as too tired even to examine the line and he teetered on it as his delicate feet gried it fast.

“t's steady,”the old man told him.

“ t's to shouldn't be that tired after a indles are birds coming to?”

he haks ,he thought,that come out to sea to mee he said nothing of this to the bird ho could not understand him anyay and ho ould learn about the haks soon enough.

“ake a good rest,small bird,”he said.

“ hen go in and take your chance like any man or bird or fish.”

t encouraged him to talk because his back had stiffened in the night and it hurt truly no.

“tay at my house if you like,bird,”he said.

“ am sorry cannot hoist the sail and take you in ith the small breeze that i am ith a friend.”

ust then the fish gave a sudden lurch that ulled the old man don onto the bo and ould have ulled him overboard if he had not braced himself and given som bird had flon u hen the line jerked and the old man had not even seen him go.

e felt the line carefully ith his right hand and noticed his hand as bleeding .

“omething hurt him then,”he said aloud and ulled back on the line to see if he could turn th hen he as touching the breaking oint he held steady and settled back against the strain of the line.

“ou're feeling it no,fish,”he said.

“nd so,od knos,am .”

e looked around for the bird no because he ould have liked him fo bird a did not stay long,the ma it is rougher here you are going until you make th did let the fish cut me ith that one quick ull he made?

must be getting ver erhas as looking at the small bird and thinking o ill ay attention to my ork and then must eat the tuna so that ill not have a failure of strength.

“ ish the boy ere here and that had some salt,”he sai the eight of the line to his left shoulder and kneeling carefully he ashed his hand in the ocean and held it there, submerged , for more than a minute atching the blood trail aay and the steady movement of the ater against his hand as the boat moved.
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